Olesya Petrova

INTRODUCTION

The internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano Olesya Petrova has a warm, round voice with excellent low, middle and top notes. She is charismatic, with a marvellous stage presence.

RECENT AND FUTURE ENGAGEMENTS

Her most recent and future highlights include among others:

• Amneris/Aida at the MET, at the ROH Covent Garden, at Arena di Verona, and at Mikhailovsky Theatre;
• Azucena/Il Trovatore, Ulrica/Un Ballo in maschera, La Frugola/Il Tabarro and Madelon/Andrea Chénier at the MET;
• Ulrica/Un Ballo in Maschera at Deutsche Oper Berlin and at Teatro Maestranza Seville;
• Fortune-teller/The Fiery Angel at Teatro Real, Madrid;
• Countess/The Queen of Spades and Ulrica/Un ballo in maschera at Mikhailovsky Theatre;
• Jezibaba/Rusalka at Opéra Royal Wallonie de Liège;
• Azucena/Il Trovatore in Rovigo and Treviso;
• Azucena/Il Trovatore (concert version) and Verdi’s Requiem w. Auckland Philharmonic;
• Kozlovski’s Requiem with Singapore Symphony Orchestra;
• Verdi’s Requiem with Maestro Fabio Luisi and NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, at Casa da Música Porto, and at Bratislava Festival w. Maestro Villaume, Alieva, Costello and Belosselskiy;
• Mahler’s Lied von der Erde with RTVE Orchestra in Madrid;
• Soloist in Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky w. Basque National Orchestra, Spain;
• Mahler’s Symphony 3 and Symphony 8 with Maestro Fabio Luisi and NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo;
• the cantata Alexander Nevsky with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra (online concert);
• a soloist in Arena di Verona’s PR concert at Carnegie Hall (New York).

BIOGRAPHY

Since 2016 Olesya Petrova has been a soloist at the Mikhailovsky Theatre, where she performs the roles of Ulrica/Un ballo in maschera, Santuzza/Cavalleria rusticana, and the Countess/The Queen of Spades among others.

Other engagements in recent seasons include Amneris/Aida at San Diego Opera; Azucena/Il Trovatore at Opera Østfold; Verdi’s Requiem with Teatro San Carlo di Napoli in Salerno and with Mehta at The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in Tel Aviv; Missa Solemnis with Orchestra Cadaques Barcelona w. Maestro Noseda.

In 2018 she made her debut at the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia, performing the role of Polina in a production premiere of The Queen of Spades (conducted by Tugan Sokhiev and directed by Rimas Tuminas).

In 2007–2016 she was a soloist with the Opera and Ballet Theatre of the St Petersburg Conservatory.

In 2014 Olesya Petrova made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in a production of Andrea Chénier in the role of Madelon; she has also sang the voice of Antonia’s mother/Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Frederica/Luisa Miller, Amneris/Aida, Maddalena/Rigoletto, Konchakovna/Prince Igor, and Marfa/Khovanshchina.

As a guest soloist, she has appeared with the Greek National Opera (Ulrica/Un ballo in maschera and Suzuki/Madama Butterfly), the Opernhaus Zürich (Konchakovna/Prince Igor), the Latvian National Opera (Azucena/Il trovatore and Amneris/Aida), the Hamburger Staatsoper (Mrs. Sedley/Peter Grimes and Federica/Luisa Miller), Madrid’s Teatro Real (Amelfa the Housekeeper/The Golden Cockerel), Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu (Emilia/Otello), the Opéra de Montréal (Fenena/Nabucco and Amneris/Aida), the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre (Joan/The Maid of Orleans and the Duenna/Betrothal in a Monastery) as well as at the Arena di Verona Festival.

In 2016 Olesya Petrova performed the role of Marguerite/La Damnation de Faust in an anniversary concert by the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Vassily Sinaisky).

Her concert repertoire includes the mezzo-soprano roles in cantatas by Bach, Handel’s oratorio Messiah, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Mozart’s Requiem and Krönungsmesse, Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Verdi’s Requiem, Mahler’s Second, Third and Eighth Symphonies and Das Lied von der Erde and Kindertotenlieder, Prokofiev’s cantata Alexander Nevsky and Penderecki’s Morning Prayer in addition to song cycles by Wagner, Berlioz, Mahler, Mussorgsky and Schnittke.

Olesya Petrova collaborates with many theatres, concert halls, orchestras, and chamber ensembles around the world and has worked with Giordano Bellincampi, Emmanuel Villaume, Valery Gergiev, Leo Kremer, Fabio Mastrangelo, Vladimir Fedoseev, and other renowned conductors.

EDUCATION

Olesya Petrova graduated from the St. Petersburg State Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatoire in 2008, class of Professor Irina Bogacheva.

AWARDS

• Prize-winner at the II Paris Opera Competition (2012; 1^st prize and Audience Award)
• Finalist at the BBC Singer of the World competition (Cardiff, 2011)
• Prize-winner at the XIII Tchaikovsky International Competition (Moscow, 2007; 2^nd prize)
• Prize-winner at the I Galina Vishnevskaya International Opera Singers Competition (Moscow, 2006; 2^nd prize)